I’m Done Being Bossed Around

It was rare for me not to report my whereabouts to Julian, but today I’d run off to the mall with my best friend, Piper Harris, to do some shopping.

His birthday was coming up.

I wanted to get him a navy-blue bow tie.

“Hey, let’s check out the stores over there!”

Piper suddenly blocked my path, panic flashing across her eyes.

“What’s wrong? You just said this tie was the nicest one we’ve seen all day. Besides, we’ve already walked through the whole mall.”

Smiling, I reached out to take her hand and keep walking.

Just then, the familiar figure ahead made me freeze dead in my tracks.

A woman was holding her phone, laughing softly with radiant, striking beauty.

A man held her hand tightly, leaning down, listening intently to her every word, affection filling his eyes.

The two of them seemed tied together by an invisible thread, sealed in their own bubble, cut out from the rest of the world.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

Just hours ago, Julian had sent me a picture of himself at the office.

He’d even bought me a bouquet of roses.

The card had read:

“A little surprise.”

I hid behind a pillar, my fingers stiff as I typed out a message to Julian:

“Babe, are you at work?”

A full minute passed without a reply.

He used to always respond within seconds.

Before me, the woman snuggled up against the man’s arm, playfully swaying his hand as she coaxed him in a soft, tender tone.

“Look how cute this puppy is! Let’s get one together.

“You always leave me to go home at the end of the day. I want a puppy to keep me company.”

Under the warm glow of the overhead lights, the mole near the outer corner of his eye was clearly visible.

I’d always loved that mole of his.

Every time we were intimate, he would use it to seduce me.

I gripped my phone tightly, my knuckles turning bone-white.

His voice was deep, laced with tenderness:

“You’re at it again. Your interest is always short-lived. I’m not gonna clean up your mess again.

“Besides, we see each other every day at the office. Isn’t that enough for you?”

Hannah flushed bright red and tried to pull her hand away, but the man scooped it back up, holding it in a firm grip.

“Alright, fine. We’ll get one.”

The woman was his executive assistant, Hannah Scott.

I slumped against the pillar, drained of all strength.

My heart felt as though it were being crushed, the pain so unbearable I couldn’t form words.

Julian had never liked keeping animals.

I’d brought up the idea of getting a pet once before.

He’d given me a soft smile then:

“Baby, you’re more than enough for me. Where would I find the energy to take care of a pet? Besides, I’m allergic.”

Turned out he wasn’t allergic at all—he just hadn’t wanted to keep one with me.

And he certainly had plenty of energy to take care of someone else.

“Oh, by the way, it looks like your wife came out today.”

Julian’s brows furrowed.

“Did she file a leave request with you?”

Hannah shook her head.

“Unacceptable. Process it as an unexcused absence for the day. She needs to learn her lesson.”

Listening to them, my tears fell silently, landing on the cold floor.

By the end of it, a bitter, hollow laugh escaped my lips.

So the messages that were always answered within seconds had been from Hannah.

He had handed his phone over to her.

She knew the ins and outs of our ridiculous, enterprise-style life.

My phone screen didn’t light up.

I never got his reply.